by Gordon Wittenmyer, The Chicago Sun-Times , Chicago Sun Times

Dempster broke the big toe on his right foot Sunday when he tripped trying to make his way over the dugout rail at Wrigley Field after the Cubs' victory against the Milwaukee Brewers. He didn't know the extent of the injury until learning the results of an X-ray Tuesday morning and had planned to make a painful start Tuesday night until then.

The Dempster DL move came one day after three players returned from the DL and the Cubs fielded their Opening Day starting eight for only the second time.

''Well, we were healthy for a day,'' manager Lou Piniella said. ''Actually, Dempster's sick about this, and so am I. It's something that you never expect to happen -- just a freak thing.''

Of course, that's a phrase Piniella has uttered often in just 2? seasons as Cubs manager -- ''a few too many times,'' he said.

In his first week of his first spring on the job, Piniella had pitcher Kerry Wood bruise his chest in a hot-tub accident. In his second spring, Piniella coined the term ''Cubby occurrence'' after another series of oddities, including pitching prospect Jose Ascanio getting beaten up by a homeless man at the Circle K, Felix Pie suffering a ''twisted testicle'' and Mark DeRosa having a heart-flutter scare that required a surgical procedure.

Then during last season, Alfonso Soriano injured his leg on that goofy hop of his after making a catch, and reliever Chad Gaudin found the wrong end of a dumpster one night with his back and suffered a severe bruise near his spine.

Dempster's injury had a comic feel to it when it happened. At least Derrek Lee, the nearest witness, thought so.

''The first person I saw when I looked up was D-Lee, and he was laughing,'' Dempster said. ''I'm sure it looked hysterical from his angle. Unfortunately, the result wasn't very funny.''

Nobody was laughing by Tuesday when the X-ray results came back.

Dempster found optimism in the fact he's dealing with a non-displaced fracture in a small bone and suggested he might miss only one start after the All-Star break.

''I think that's very optimistic, truthfully,'' Piniella said. ''Talking to our trainer, he thought the best-case scenario was three weeks, probably a month.''

Rookie Kevin Hart, who had been optioned to Class AAA in the flurry of moves Monday, was recalled before leaving town to take Dempster's spot in the rotation until further notice. He's scheduled to start today against the Atlanta Braves and then make at least one more start after the break.

Carlos Zambrano took Dempster's start Tuesday on short rest, and that put Big Z on track to get an extra start before the break -- in Dempster's slot Sunday.

''I've tended to be a quick healer in the past, and I'm hoping that's the case with this,'' said Dempster, who can wear a protective boot in the meantime when he throws to keep his arm conditioned.

He's expected to have another X-ray to determine the progress of the healing when the Cubs head to Washington out of the break next week and said he expects his return to be based primarily on the pain he can tolerate once the bone is healed beyond the risk of doing more damage by pitching.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT

Ryan Dempster has joined a long list of Cubs to miss playing time for hard-to-believe injuries. Here are 11 from the last five years alone:

Sammy Sosa Back spasms from sneezing 2004

Kyle Farnsworth Sprains knee kicking electric fan 2004

Carlos Zambrano Elbow pain from online chats 2005

Mike Remlinger Fractures pinkie using recliner 2005

Kerry Wood Bruises chest in hot-tub fall 2007

Felix Pie Twisted testicle 2008

Jose Ascanio Facial cuts from Circle K beating 2008

Alfonso Soriano Strains calf on hop after catching fly 2008

Chad Gaudin Bruises back in fall against dumpster 2008

Ryan Dempster Fractures toe in fall from dugout rail 2009

Mark DeRosa ''Minor'' heart surgery for flutter 2008

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